downthetubes.net News Archive: August 2007




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KEEP YOUR PECKER UP!
27/8/07: You may have heard whispers of this upcoming series, or even caught glimpses of its weird and wonderful characters. Well, here's the skinny: Peckerwood is a new series of satirical graphic novels starring Tozzer, Rod and Hornie. Names sound familiar? They're the three main characters from the Tozzer book created by Peter Lumby and Rob Dunlop. Now they're in their early teens and trying to make it as (somewhat ageing) child actors, so they've come to Peckerwood, movie capital of the world.
"You'll laugh. You'll cry. And then you'll laugh some more," claim the book's creators. "Actually, you may not cry at all. I'm not sure why we wrote that. Maybe if someone steals your signed copy, or you trap your fingers in a door while reading it, that might induce a few tears, but to be honest you're probably safe from the whole weepy thing."
The first book in the series, Peckerwood: 24 Minutes, is a a parody of that little-known show that called, strangely enough, 24 and is due out this October in the UK - if you buy it directly from Tozzer. If you want to buy it in book stores or comic shops, we're talking first half of 2008.
Web Link: www.tozzer.com/book2/book2.htm

Virgin Comics 'Dan Dare #1 preview cover DAN DARE RECALLED
27/8/07 (with thanks to Richard Sheaf and Derek Wilson): Information on Virgin Comics Dan Dare title due in November and news on a film project has begun to emerge.
The new Dan Dare comic will be written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Gary Erskine that, as downthetubes reported earlier in the year, sounds more in keeping with the character's 2000AD incarnation that the original Eagle character, operating in a world where post-nuclear warfare has destroyed North America and much of Asia, leaving the UK as the world's last remaining superpower.
Gary Leach will be providing covers to the first seven issues.
Here is the press release from Virgin Comics in full:

Aviator and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson today announced that Virgin Comics (www.VirginComics.com) will be bringing legendary super hero Dan Dare out of retirement and back into the outer reaches of the galaxy, with an all new Dan Dare comic book series.

The new series will be published monthly beginning November 2007 and will be written by legendary comic author, Garth Ennis (author of Preacher, The Boys, Hitman, John Woo’s Seven Brothers and other acclaimed and best-selling titles).

Dan Dare has been an icon since 1950. Elaborate stories of his space travel and galactic battles defending people of the universe captivated post-War baby boomers. Dan Dare’s adventures burst to the forefront of pop culture, selling nearly one million copies each week in the pages of the Eagle Comic.

"Dan Dare is the quintessential British hero. He’s our Captain America, our Superman, our Batman, he’s all of them rolled into one. He’s the original and the best." said Garth Ennis, recipient of several National Comics Awards for the best in UK comics and Will Eisner Awards for the best in US comics.

"Dan Dare is an heroic, thoughtful and fiercely independent character; I was an avid reader of his epic journeys. It is a pleasure for Virgin Comics to be involved with such a legendary character – one of the original great aviators" said Sir Richard Branson.

"Dan Dare is the real original Super Hero. In the 50’s, on the front page of The Eagle, he was selling one million copies a week. Today, his impact and appeal to readers across the UK and around the world can be even greater with Virgin Comics. This is a perfect partnership." said Colin Frewin, CEO of The Dan Dare Corporation.

"Superman, Batman and Spider-Man beware – Dan Dare – Pilot of the Future is back to protect us all.

Virgin Comics’ Dan Dare is set in the future, albeit not too many decades from the present day. Colonel Dare is still vibrant and courageous – but now he’s retired. His retirement is a self-imposed exile, the result of his disgust with politics and the post-nuclear warfare that has destroyed North America and much of Asia – leaving the UK as the world’s last remaining superpower.

Readers familiar with Dan Dare stories will recognize many of the original cast including a wiser and more experienced Digby; the innovative, brilliant and beautiful Professor Peabody; and of course the enemy of all that is good, the super-intelligent ruler of the Treens – The Mekon, together with a mix of galactic evil beings.

"Dan Dare and Virgin are a perfect combination – two iconic UK brands. We are thrilled to be working with Colin and Garth to redefine this quintessential character for a new generation of readers around the world." said Sharad Devarajan, Virgin Comics’ CEO.

"Dan Dare + Garth Ennis = AWESOME," explains Gotham Chopra, Virgin Comics’ Chief Creative Officer. "There’s not much more to say because this is a combination that doesn’t require hype – great comic heroes plus great comic writers equal a great time for all of us. Expect nothing less."

Additional plot info indicates that Dare returns as trouble musters in Deep Space. The H.M.S. Achilles is picking up strange signals when, suddenly, an enormous fleet of hostile ships ambushes the destroyer. As the crew struggles to stay alive, they realize with horror that the hostiles have brought a weapon of unimaginable power.


Richard Branson promotes Dan Dare from a pool side. It's a hard life!

Dare -- described by some US news sites reporting the story as "Britain's version of Buck Rogers" -- has long been a favourite of Virgin's Richard Branson (he's even displayed artwork from the Dare comic series in Virgin Atlantic Airways lounges), who led the effort to acquire the publishing, TV, movie and video game rights to Dare from Eagle owner Colin Frewin, whose Dan Dare Corporation created the recent animated version of the character.

Variety (subscription required) reports Virgin is in the process of finding the right director, writer, and producers to work on the film version of the project, with the Creative Artists Agency packaging the potential film and meeting with clients about the project.

Virgin Comics LLC is a character entertainment company creating original stories and epic myths for worldwide audiences. The company was founded in November 2005 by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Enterprises Ltd., alongside entrepreneurs, Sharad Devarajan, Gotham Chopra and Suresh Seetharaman. Among Virgin Comic's titles are new comics and graphic novels: Devi, Ramayan 3392 AD, Seven Brothers with John Woo, and Voodoo Child with Chris Weston and Nicolas Cage.
For those who played one of the Dan Dare computer games in the late 1980s may remember that they were made by... Virgin Games!
Commenting on the news, Dan Dare fan and downthetubes contributor Richard Sheaf says of the preview cover: "The knife and the (presumably) ammunition holders signify this may be a version of Dan who no longer uses the ol' paralysing pistol. A violent comic from Garth Ennis, who'd have thought it?
"The naval look to the ships is a new interpretation for the Dan Dare universe but looks fine. And the Mekon lurking in the background is an essential touch.
"I'm not clear whther this is an on-going comic or a mini-series (I assume the latter) but like the fanboy I am I'll be buying all the issues," he added. "The press coverage that this should generate for Virgin should raise their profile in the UK. Check out the papers tomorrow to see if our hero gets a mention (Dan Dare, not Branson!)."

COMICS BRITANNIA - SERIES INFORMATION
23/8/07: The BBC have released full transmission details for Comics Britannia (or, How we grew up with comics and how comics grew up with us...), a series of four documentaries on comics which will screen on BBC4, to be broadcast as three hour-long episodes in September.
Many of the people involved in downthetubes helped out with the shows, providing contacts and information and the production team have sent a generous thank you note for their efforts.

Here's the promotional information from the BBC for the series:

From the Beano to Bunty, Commando to Viz, the Eagle to 2000AD, British comics have captivated generations from the thirties to the present day.
Narrated by comedy writer Armando Iannucci (The Thick of It) Comics Britannia will feature comics legends who wrote and drew the original strips, comics experts and a range of celebrity fans who re-live their favourite comic strip moments and characters.
Bash Street Kids, Dennis the Menace, Roy of The Rovers, Fat Slags, Watchmen, V for Vendetta and many more are brought to life using a special graphics style that allows the audience literally to step inside the comics.
Comics Britannia forms the centrepiece of BBC Four's comics season which also includes a one-off film, In Search of Steve Ditko, which sees Jonathan Ross go in search of his hero – comic book legend, Steve Ditko. Other programmes within the season include Adam West’s Batman series and a screening of the feature film Modesty Blaise.
The series features those who wrote and drew the original strips, comics experts and a range of fans whose lives have been shaped by reading ‘classic strips', offering a rich mix of interviews, strips and archive illuminated by a unique graphics style which literally allows you to step into the comics world.
George Entwistle, Acting Controller, BBC FOUR, says: “Whether you grew up on the Beano or Jackie – or wished you’d been allowed to - this season offers a trip down memory lane, peppered with the customary wit and intelligence of BBC Four".

PROGRAMME ONE: The Fun Factory (10th September)

Comics Britannia explores the world of the children’s humour comic and the revolution which began with the first publication of the Dandy in 1937.
The series explains why colourful, cheap publications like the Dandy, and then the Beano enchanted a generation living through the effects of the Depression, World War 2 and post-war Austerity.
Comics Britannia revisits the golden age of comics in the Fifties and early Sixties and looks at the work of great comics artists Dudley Watkins, Davey Law, Leo Baxendale and Ken Reid, revealing how a new subversive and anarchic humour emerged from the pages of the Beano and the Dandy.
Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen, writer Jacqueline Wilson, Oscar winning animator Nick Park and Cartoonist Steve Bell discuss their passion for comics, with some surprising revelations!

Eagle PROGRAMME TWO: Boys & Girls (17th September)
Following the Second World War boys and girls adventure comics emerged to capture the imaginations of the growing baby boomer generation.
Comics Britannia tells the extraordinary story of the bohemian vicar who founded the most ground-breaking comic to emerge in the immediate post- war era – The Eagle, complete with its very own square jawed hero, Dan Dare.
The programme looks at attempts to create the equivalent for girls — comics featuring ballet and boarding schools, such as School Friend, Girl and Bunty.
Meanwhile, the boys grew up with their comic book heroes achieving impossible feats of courage and endeavour on the fields of sport and battle, with the larger than life exploits of Captain Hurricane and Roy of the Rovers.
But comics would soon have to reinvent themselves and follow their readers as they grew older. Titles such as Mirabelle and Romeo were introduced to appeal to older girls who had once loved Bunty and Girl.
Into the 1960s and 1970s the industry responded to a changing Britain with a new generation of comics such as Jackie, Tammy and Battle aimed at meeting the new demands of teenage readers.
Fans of comics in this episode include comedian Frank Skinner, ex footballer and pundit Mark Lawrenson, cartoonists Posy Simmonds and Gerald Scarfe, and writer Jacqueline Wilson, who all reveal their childhood favourites.

PROGRAMME THREE: X-Rated : Anarchy in the UK (24 September)

Comics Britannia X-Rated reveals how during the Seventies and Eighties a generation grew up reading a new kind of comic. Directed at older, adult readers, these comics had strips with darker, more satirical and sexual material. There was a new sophistication in the writing and artwork which began to see comic books evolve into a new phenomenon – the graphic novel.
From the bedroom of brothers Chris and Simon Donald in Newcastle came the outrageous Viz which was selling a million copies nationwide in the 1980s and was responsible for inventing the Fat Slags, Roger Mellie, Johnny Fartpants and Sid the Sexist.
A few years earlier, 2000AD was launched, sending Punks into Space and creating the iconic anti-hero Judge Dredd.
Out of this comics ‘new wave’ emerged a major talent, writer Alan Moore. Working with leading artists, he created ground-breaking work such as V for Vendetta, Watchmen and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
The programme interviews Moore and the group of other writers and artists who spearheaded the adult-oriented revolution in British comics: Simon and Chris Donald, Dave Gibbons, Carlos Ezquerra, Kevin O’Neill, Alan Grant and David Lloyd.
Super comics fans Frank Skinner, Stewart Lee, Andrew Collins and Charles Shaar Murray are also on hand to offer their take.

IN SEARCH OF STEVE DITKO (Tuesday 18 September, 9.30pm)

Jonathan Ross goes in search of his hero Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spiderman.
Steve Ditko is virtually unknown to all but a handful of comic book enthusiasts. In a one off film for BBC Four, Ross, a noted comic book enthusiast and obsessive Ditko fan, goes in search of the comic book legend, co-creator of Spiderman, who lives his life as a recluse.
Steve Ditko should, and could quite easily have become a multi millionaire. Many times he has been offered vast sums of cash in return for explaining why he left Marvel and of course, Spiderman, the character he co-created with Stan Lee back in 1961.
Steve Ditko and Stan Lee worked together at Marvel for five years and with Spiderman on the verge of becoming the best selling comic book in the world, Ditko left the book and the company. While at Marvel, he had designed all of the characters, illustrated and inked each issue and provided Spiderman with his unique look. He'd also plotted every story, leaving Stan Lee to write the dialogue.
In the years that followed he continued creating many new and wonderful characters for the biggest comic companies, as well as expressing his own political and personal views in independently published books. He has never explained why he left Spiderman when he did, or why he has never returned to draw his most famous character again. It’s a question that intrigues and perplexes comic fans all over the world. Meanwhile, Stan Lee's contribution to the Spiderman phenomenon has left him well known and wealthy.
To discover what led to Ditko’s strange career path, and in an effort to ensure this reclusive genius receives the credit that is his due – Ross heads off in search of both the man and, hopefully, the truth.
Ross’s search takes him from the UK to Los Angeles. On his journey, he talks to those who met and worked with Ditko, including Stan Lee, co-creator of the web-slinging Spider-Man and another comic book legend, Northampton based Alan Moore.
• Comics Britannia web site

IN MEMORIAM: PHIL GASCOINE
16/8/07: I'm very sorry to report that British comics artist Phil Gascoine has died after a short illness.
For those of you who knew him the news comes as a terrible shock. He was once chairman of the Society of Strip Illustrators and always a consummate professional.
In the words of his good friend, fellow artist Barrie Mitchell, who I spoke with this morning, "There are not a lot of artists who can turn their hands to anything, but Phil was one of them."
I am preparing a tribute to Phil for downthetubes and would welcome memories of Phil if you have them. He was always one of those creators who would mix with all generations and was still working on DC Thomson's Wendy.
He will be much missed by all who knew him or worked with him.
• Read an interview and tributes to Phil here

Dan Dare action figure designs by Chris Weston DAN DARE ACTION FIGURES IN DEVELOPMENT
10/8/07: Ministry of Space artist Chris Weston is working on design sheets for a series of all new 12 inch Dan Dare action figures, to be produced by Underground Toys Ltd., a US-UK operation who laso hold licenses for characters such as Doctor Who (the figures themselves produced by Character Options), South Park, the BBC's Robin Hood, Transformers and Chucky.
Talking about the project on his blog Chris reveals the figure will be as faithful as possible to the original 1950's character, as created by Frank Hampson... "I have received some input from [Spaceship Away editor] Mr. Barzilay himself, Britain's foremost Dan Dare expert, to help get it as accurate as possible."
Chris has posted two design sheets which are his initial designs, awaiting approval before he adds the colour.
"I will also be designing the box art for these action figures' and all their accessories (some of it computer generated in order to give the manufacturers a 3D model to work from)... and Underground Toys Ltd are hoping to get one of the hottest sculptors around to work on Dan's distinctive features."
• Chris Weston blog

MIKE MCMAHON CONFIRMED FOR BICS
1/8/07: After not attending any conventions for many years 2000AD legend Mike McMahon makes a welcome return to the show circuit at this year's Birmingham International Comics Show in October.
Mike will be available for signings on both Saturday and Sunday, so make sure you don't miss out on this rare opportunity to meet one of the creators responsible for shaping the difinitive Judge Dredd.
Many more 2000AD creators, both past and present have also now confirmd for this year's show. For the full updated guest list go to: www.thecomicsshow.co.uk/guests.htm

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